Panama has made significant progress in reducing poverty in recent years, progress that compares positively to that of the rest of the Latin America and Caribbean region.
... See More + This report takes stock of this progress and reflects on the constraints and opportunities that Panama faces in continuing on its path of shared prosperity and poverty reduction. The education and skills agenda, energy, public sector reform, the inclusion of indigenous peoples, and water management are identified as areas that will require attention to ensure the sustainability of Panamas success story. Following a detailed analysis of poverty-recent trends, drivers of poverty reduction, and demographic factors-the report provides foundations to answer three main questions: 1) What has driven growth in Panama in recent years? 2) To what extent has this growth been, or not been, inclusive? 3) How sustainable is the growth and more generally, the development model of Panama?
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Ratings for the Health Equity and Performance Improvement Project for Panama were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, risk to development outcome was low or negligible, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: per capita payments and results-based financing (RBF) are efficient policy tools to generate incentives for delivering health services to communities in rural areas. When preparing indicators, there should be a balance between the technical and administrative objectives. Private sector providers can be partners in the delivery of health services to the poor in rural areas, but this requires the Ministry of Health (MOH) to perform a strong supervision role. Integrated and automated information systems can facilitate per capita payments, RBF, and sector management. The verification process used information systems that were not well integrated and required an extensive manual review. Coordination among lending institutions is key to reduce the burden on public offices and avoid potential financial gaps and service provision.
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This report provides a status update on the human resources for health (HRH) sub-system in six Latin American and Caribbean countries: Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay.
... See More + The report structures its discussion around how the health workforce is financed, organized, managed, regulated, and performing. In the area of financing, the study presents the variety of contracting mechanisms, salary levels, and financial incentives offered across the countries and their role in being able to attract and retain health workers. On the organization of the HRH sub-system, the report looks at the skill-mix, training, and distribution of health care workers concluding that although the countries have made progress towards achieving key HRH targets and in making education more accessible, there continues to be limited absorption capacity for graduates, the Primary Health Care focus of training programs needs to be strengthened, and strategies to encourage rural service have not been able to fully address the gap in the distribution of health workers. In reviewing management strategies for HRH, the report presents how all countries have adopted the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel to recognize foreign-trained professionals to help address shortages and fill gaps of health worker presence in rural, remote areas. However, the countries continue to struggle with putting self-sufficiency policies in place to meet HRH needs such as the lack of promotion plans, limited non-monetary incentives, and the shortage of personnel for recruitment and eventual placement. In the area of regulation, the report presents the countries efforts to reduce precarious employment and introduce HRH safety policies and legislation to regulate disputes and negotiations. On performance, the report found mixed results in the areas of access/availability to health workers and quality of care, factors discouraging dual practice, and unjustified absenteeism of health workers.
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Ratings for the Water Supply and Sanitation in Low-Income Communities Project for Panama were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: policy development activities are attractive activities to drop during execution given the general difficulties in implementing the activities, especially across government administration changes, as well as their typical low-weight in terms of budget assignments. Projects design should not rely heavily on structures that are not established at the outset given the probability that changes in political will or other unexpected occurrences can impact their creation. Tariff schemes should not be applied uniformly but should reflect the capacity and dynamics of each community. It is important to be sensitive to the cultural context and stakeholder perceptions regarding income classifications.
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This review examines the implementation of the FY2011-14 Panama country partnership strategy (CPS) of FY2011 and the CPS progress report (CPSPR) of FY2013, and assesses the completion and learning review (CLR).
... See More + The CPS was designed and implemented by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Finance Corporation (IFC). The overall objective of the CPS was to support Panamas government strategic five year plan (2010-2014). The CPS focused on supporting economic growth (pillar one), providing greater opportunities for all (pillar two), and enhancing public sector transparency, effectiveness, and efficiency (pillar three). The CPS results framework suffered from poorly structured results chains, with several objectives formulated as outputs rather than outcomes, and the absence of objectives and measurable outcome indicators for IFC and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) activities as well as for the Banks analytical and advisory activities (AAA) program. Independent evaluation group (IEG) highlights two additional points. First, some CPS objectives, particularly under pillar three, were overly ambitious in light of the limited institutional capacity and CPS time frame, thus suggesting the need for more realism and attention to institutional constraints in the formulation of the next country partnership framework (CPF) objectives. Second, the dropped operations in the roads sector suggest that strategic selectivity will be enhanced through better coordination with development partners at program design stage.
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The Social Protection Project for Panama received a moderately satisfactory outcome rating with moderate risk to development outcome. Both the Bank and the Borrower received moderately satisfactory ratings for their parts in the project.
... See More + The project was restructured four different times. The loan agreement was first amended to provide the counterpart with additional time for the selection of independent agencies to carry out the impact evaluation of community-based interventions to prevent chronic malnutrition and the impact evaluation of the Red de Oportunidades (Network of Opportunities) or RO. The project was restructured for a second time to: (a) reallocate resources from components with low execution to components with high execution; in particular, resources were reallocated from components 2 and 4, to components 1 and 3, which had disbursed 24 percent and 96 percent respectively; (b) extend the projects closing date by 18 months. In addition, in November 2013 the closing date was extended for a second time until May 31, 2014 and then a final extension to September 30, 2014, was approved. These extensions were needed to allow enough time to complete the data collection and evaluation of the RO. There were several lessons learned from this project including the following: (1) in situations of Bank re-engagement with a client, simple and scalable operations may be preferable, (2) se of tested hiring mechanisms, such as performance-based payments, can boost the achievement of objectives, (3) more attention should be given to the requirements for MIS for enabling easier operation by implementing agencies, (4) project indicators need to consider the availability of data and feasibility to obtain unavailable data, (5) cash transfer programs may have positive impacts at the local level when deployed in close-knit communities, and (6) ensuring the offerings of social assistance programs are culturally adapted and tailored to specific beneficiary groups should ensure better compliance with co-responsibilities of these programs.
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The project development objective of the First Programmatic Shared Prosperity Development Policy Loan for Panama is Expanding inclusion, improving service delivery, and modernizing fiscal management are critical for further reducing extreme poverty and sharing prosperity in Panama.
... See More + This is the first of three projects involved in the series. The proposed DPL series supports the Government of Panamas efforts to promote human development, sustainable economic growth, and institutional strengthening. The Program Development Objective of the DPL series is to support the Government of Panamas efforts to (i) expand inclusion and opportunities, (ii) improve service delivery, and (iii) modernize fiscal management. The program will focus on three pillars to achieve these higher level objectives. The objectives of pillar (1) expanding inclusion and opportunities, are to (a) strengthen the institutional framework and programs for inclusion and opportunities of indigenous peoples development, (b) expand opportunities for youth, and (c) expand the coverage and improving the targeting and quality of social protection for the poor. The objectives of pillar (2) improving service delivery, are to: (a) improve water and sanitation management and (b) secure sustainable and reliable energy provision. Finally, the objectives of pillar (3) modernizing fiscal management, are to: (a) strengthen the financial planning of government resources and (b) increase the governments ability to manage fiscal risks from disasters.
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Panamas economic growth has been at the top of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region in recent years. The countrys rapid growth has been largely pro-poor and translated into significant poverty reduction.
... See More + The new Administration is well placed to tackle these challenges, with its commitment to maintaining an open and diversified economy and redressing social imbalances. Looking ahead, the countrys main challenges are to maintain the current growth performance and ensure that its benefits are extended to all. The World Bank Groups (WBG) new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) seeks to support Panamas continued high growth, while ensuring inclusion and opportunities for marginalized groups, and bolstering resilience and sustainability. These themes are highlighted as priorities in the Governments 2014-2019 Strategic Development Plan (SDP) and in the WBGs Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD). The CPF seeks to maximize over a six-year period, the comparative advantages of the WBG, through packages of innovative public and private financing options based on cutting edge global knowledge and experience.
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In 2005, Panama became the first country to develop a National Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. This was a result of Panamas financial system and economic assets being increasingly at risk to natural hazards like extreme weather events and seismic activity.
... See More + In 2010, Panamas Ministry of Finance partnered with the World Banks Urban and Disaster Risk Management Unit and others to facilitate technical dialogues, conduct analyses of public investments in DRM, and develop new risk management instruments to build financial resilience. Public investments included: physical infrastructure and mitigation works and emergency response activities. The Ministry of Finance and the World Bank also introduced new financial instruments or risk retention mechanisms, such as contingency lines of credit and disaster reserve funds, to better manage the financial risk of low-impact hazards at a national level. Additional financial instruments, or risk transfer mechanisms were also selected to insure public assets and mitigate the financial shock from more severe, but less frequent natural hazard events.
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The objective of the Sustainable Production Systems and Conservation of Biodiversity Project for Panama is the same as the Projects development objective (PDO), namely to conserve globally significant biodiversity through the improvement of the management effectiveness of the Project Protected Areas and biodiversity mainstreaming in the Buffer Zones.
... See More + The proposed project will contribute to two strategic objectives of the Biodiversity Strategy for GEF-5, namely: a) improve the sustainability of Protected Areas (PA) systems; and b) mainstream biodiversity conservation and sustainable use into production landscapes/ seascapes and sectors. The threats that the Project seeks to address are aligned with this strategy. The project is made up of the following four components: (1) Sustainable Management of Protected Areas. This component will improve management effectiveness and long term sustainability of the Project PAs with a focus on financial sustainability, monitoring of biodiversity, and monitoring and evaluation of the Project. This goal will rest on three interdependent areas of intervention: alliances for participatory management, biodiversity monitoring, and endowment fund. (2) Biodiversity and Sustainable Productive Landscapes. This component will mainstream biodiversity and sustainable production in PAs and Buffer Zones. It focuses on three areas of intervention: Biodiversity-friendly production systems, Strengthening of Community-based organizations (CBOs), and Municipal environmental subprojects. (3) Knowledge Management, Training and Communications. This component will develop and implement: (i) a communication and outreach strategy for dissemination of information on the Project and promotion of partnerships for the management of PAs; (ii) an awareness and fundraising campaign for the endowment fund; and (iii) an educational campaign addressed to consumers on biodiversity-friendly products and the economic value of biodiversity. It will focus on the following three areas of intervention: Knowledge management, South-South cooperation and promotion of partnerships, and Strategic communication and outreach. (4) Project Management. This component will strengthen National Environment Authority (ANAMs) capacity for Project implementation by supporting the technical and administrative coordination of the Project. Consulting services, office equipment, audits and operational costs for activities to be undertaken by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) for project management and supervision will be financed.
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